Vic ICT for Women are a proud and active contributor to the #TechDiversity initiative and the Awards that will be recognised on 4th August.

I urge you to get involved and gain recognition for the efforts you, as an individual, or as a company, are making to the IT industry in Victoria. You play a role in making the number of women in IT count by promoting Gender Diversity in IT, so turn the dial up – nominate and be noticed!

I come from a small town in South Africa, a place with amazing diversity but with an unacceptable racial divide. I learnt at an early age to aspire to change what I thought was wrong – and if roadblocks appeared, find a way to go around. My parents were English Catholic migrants desperate to fit in. I was always different. I made my decision to leave family, friends and a cushy job as Assistant Accountant for Mercedes Benz in Johannesburg before I let myself conform to fit in! I travelled, did a range of jobs overseas that would never have fitted the mould back home and met an Aussie, came to Australia and became the mother of 2 amazing children who brought a new dimension to my life – gave up the rebel and settled down – but only for a while.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section]

I am by nature a competitive being, not sure if it was something instilled in me, or just something I felt growing up. It was simply that I had to do well, excel and be better than others. This was not in a bad way, but rather I measured my success on where others were at. This was to also play a part during my career. I often felt that women had to go above and beyond what men did or over achieve to be seen as successful. I started my IT journey in the 90s – it was a time of high interest rates, high unemployment rates – the recession hits hard, families start to lose jobs and their homes. One morning I began the process of looking for work. Failing to find a role suitable to my qualifications (BA (Hons), Post Grad in Criminology, ) I became a bit despondent. I held two degrees but no role to be found, yet there was water everywhere (in a vast pond called Information Technology), but not a drop to drink for me.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row]So Today, I have been – Board member – Mentor – Blogger – Go Girl Program Director – Senior IT leader – A mother – A wife, a friend, a colleague Tomorrow, I want to – Leave a legacy behind, that I have made a difference to those coming after me